New Hens - How to check for illness?

[WellingtonCoop]

Hello everyone!
We’re adopting 3 x 1.5 year old hens from a friend who has too many eggs to manage. We already have 4 hens raised from chicks that are 2 years old. We will be doing a 1-2 week long quarantine in side-by-side fenced runs, and all hens will sleep in our coop which is open concept but the new girls will stay on the other side of a sturdy partition. So they won’t have direct physical contact for the entire length of the quarantine but will share the same “nighttime coop air” if that makes sense!

My question - how do we check these new hens for diseases, what should we watch for, and what do we do if we notice any disease? We want to make sure that they’re not bringing any illness to our little flock. (The 3 new hens are from a tiny flock of only 12, and we know the owner to be a very responsible chicken parent, but illness happens!)

So grateful for your assistance!

 

[KaseySnow]

Will your friend been vaccinating for Mareks and Cocci? If not, or if they did not come from a hatchery that vaccinates, I highly recommend that you ask them to. Perhaps offer to split the cost so they can vaccinate their new birds as well.

Outside of that, once you have them on property just watch out for any odd behavior, weird poop, excessive scratching or preening/plucking, etc. Inspect eyes and nostrils regularly for discharge or foam.